Weekend in numbers

56 – Celtic secured the William Hill Premiership title with a dramatic 3-1 win over Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park. The Hoops fell behind to a Lawrence Shankland header in their must-win title decider but Arne Engels equalised before half-time and late goals from Daizen Maeda and Callum Osmand ensured they would be champions. At the age of 74, Martin O’Neill won his fourth title with Celtic, with the third having come over 20 years ago in 2003/04. This was Celtic’s 56th league title, which makes them the outright most successful club in Scottish League history. The Hoops have won 14 of the last 15 league titles available, with James Forrest having played in all 14, making him the most decorated player in Scottish League history.

4 – Motherwell defeated Hibernian 1-0 at Easter Road to secure a fourth-place finish in the William Hill Premiership. Lukas Fadinger scored the only goal of the game to guarantee that Jens Berthel Askou’s side will play in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers next season. This will be the 12th time the Steelmen have played in Europe – most recently they played in the Conference League in 2022/23. Motherwell finished the season on 61 points – this is their best tally in over a decade, since Stuart McCall picked up 70 points as he led them to 2nd place in 2013/14. Striker Tawanda Maswanhise finished the season as the William Hill Premiership’s top goalscorer, with 17 goals – he is the first Motherwell player to top the chart since Michael Higdon in 2012/13.

11 – Partick Thistle sealed their place in the William Hill Premiership play-off final with a 2-1 victory over Dunfermline Athletic at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill. Mark Wilson’s side trailed at half-time but goals from Logan Chalmers and Alex Samuel ensured they won 3-2 on aggregate to set up a clash with St Mirren. Saints were the last team to defeat Thistle, that was a 2-1 win in Paisley in the Scottish Cup in March – since then the Jags have been unbeaten in 11 matches. Thistle are aiming to return to the top flight for the first time in eight years, having been relegated via these play-offs in 2018.

51 – Stenhousemuir will play in the William Hill Championship next season after defeating Alloa Athletic 3-2 on aggregate in the play-off final. Gary Naysmith’s men led 3-1 from the first leg so their 1-0 defeat at Ochilview on Saturday was enough to secure a second promotion in three seasons. The Warriors will play in the second tier for the first time in 51 years, since the Scottish League reconstruction saw a move from two divisions to three in 1975. Naysmith has led the club to two promotions in three seasons, including their first ever league title in 2023/24 but will now move on to Ayr United, who will be one of the Warriors’ opponents in next season’s Championship.

4 – Hamilton Academical defeated Clyde 4-3 at Broadwood on Friday to retain their place in William Hill League 1. Tony Gallacher and Kyle MacDonald both scored doubles to secure a 5-4 aggregate victory for Darian MacKinnon’s side. Hamilton have an impressive record in the play-offs – they have been successful in four of their five attempts across the Premiership, Championship and League 1 play-offs, with their only defeat coming against Airdrie on penalties in 2022/23. Accies are now unbeaten in their last 10 meetings with Clyde in all competitions, a run which stretches back to 2007.

2 – Edinburgh City held on to their spot in the SPFL with a 2-0 victory over Brora Rangers at Meadowbank Stadium. Two early goals from Divine Iserhienrhien were enough for Michael McIndoe’s side to secure a 3-1 aggregate victory. The Citizens gained play-off revenge over Brora, who beat them at the semi-final stage back in 2014/15 when City were still a Lowland League side. This is just the second time out of the last seven that the SPFL side has won this play-off – the other was Stranraer’s victory over East Kilbride in 2023/24.